Rwanda Environment and Cultural Organization (RECO)
Project title: HUMANITARIAN IN THE ORGANIC FARMING
Rationale and motivation: By the end of 2020, Rwanda hosted 144,662 individuals and 143853
individually registered as refugees, from different nationalities. Recently, Rwanda started receiving
refugees and asylum seekers from various countries including Libya etc. Though Rwanda has put much to
improve their livelihood, but the innovative initiatives are still needed.
Also, in Gatsibo District only 18% of children under five ages met the required acceptable diet and this
district has high percentage of women (16%) who begun childbearing at the age of 15-19 and live as single
mothers (NST-2014-2015).
Cereals and edible oils makes up just 8% of the total value of household consumption in Rwanda which is
about one-fifth of the total food expenditure. In Rwanda between June 2021 and April 2022, the global
prices of palm oil and wheat increased by 56 and 100 percentages respectively. At the same time, the
prices of fertilizes doubled. In addition, real maize prices increased by 11 percentages. The alarming
problem is that the prices are still increasing daily (IFPRI2, 2022). These price increases are reported to be
the global food, fuel and fertilizers due to Ukraine and Russia war crisis (WFP, 2022).
In general, most Rwanda communities relies on farming and imported goods. As Gatsibo District is among
the high vulnerable and having Refugee camp and due to its historical economic challenge, innovative
initiative is needed. This project will help to contribute to inspire young generation to have an
entrepreneurial mindset as solution to global change, the community wellbeing and food resilience while
reducing malnutrition in vulnerable communities. This is an APS ATI-02 solution to reduce the current
Ukraine war crisis in resilience of food systems that builds on our connections to people and agriculture.
Problem statement: We will investigate the role of organic home garden implementation (Biological
farming) and production of edible oil in improving the wellbeing of vulnerable communities (single
mothers and the refugees living in Rwandan camps and the importance of humanitarian) and in
contribution of food resilience and soil adaptation.
Research overall measurable objectives: The studies aim at tackling fertilizer inflation and yield
improvement while empowering vulnerable local community and inspiring high school students in the
production of edible oil from avocados as an alternative source of imported food materials.
Research approach proposed: This is an action research study that will use a mixed method of qualitative
and quantitative approaches, with pre and post-intervention interviews, using questionnaires. Before the
home organic garden, vermicomposting events and oil production, rural single mothers, secondary
schools and refugees will be interviewed to capture their understanding of the proposed research
questions. Four months after each home garden planting and community celebration, the same people
will be interviewed to measure if there has been a change in their perception in biological farming and
edible oil production (to meet the Rwanda 2 rain seasons for farming of 4months each).
The potential impact and expected outputs: 1 organic and biological compost center will be created; 1
HOF phone application will be created; 3 Home organic vegetable and corn gardens will be created in
Rwanda; 120 high school students will learn how to produce edible oil from avocados, 2 scientific research
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papers will be published; 3 farming community celebrations and 3 home
organic gardens planting events of at least 3 species of indigenous corn and
5 species of vegetables will be realized; a network of single mothers, and
refugees and farmers will be created; 3 RECO farming clubs in 2 refugee camps and 1 in Gatsibo district
will be created; 3 media campaigns will be realized and ultimately 1 HOF organic farming enterprise
organization will be created and will be fully functioning with its own funding to spearhead and promote
RECO activities. The initiative will link single mothers and refugees with each other and successful farmers
in Rwanda and around the world.
Project sustainability: After the proposed project, the organic composted enterprise that will be created
at the end of this work, it will continue distributing organic compost and pesticides to the vulnerable
community for free through created clubs. Local farming will access biological farming information via
mobile application. The interested local and international farming and fishing groups of people in organic
composts, pesticides and cultivated earthworms, and home gardens services will be charged some
amount of money. The 120 students inspired will be source of job creation instead of job seekers. The
50% of the income will go back to the vulnerable community through trainings and awareness and the
remaining 50% will be used to the sustainability work of the enterprise.
To the part of Partnership, RECO is built on the existing partnerships and has all agreed to take part in the
initiative. Avoca care Ltd provide sustainable solutions to cultivation and adding value of avocados. They
produce avocado oil including extravergin for cooking and cosmetic purpose, refining oil for cooking in
Rwanda. They provide inspiration services to interested foreign and local people who want to learn the
oil production mechanisms from fresh avocado. In addition, we work as a multidisciplinary team including
the local restaurants (the source of food craps) and the Organic Venture ltd (who bring extensive
knowledge on nutrition and organic farming services).
Budget: We are applying for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).
I.
About Rwanda Environment and Cultural Organization (RECO)
(RECO) aims at promoting Rwandan cultural heritage, conserving Rwandan genetic biodiversity, and
enhancing population wellbeing based on environmental conservation through indoor and outdoor
gardening. Our objectives are achieved through distributing creative cultural arts, and paints, indoor and
outdoor gardening design, and implementations to both private entities such as hotels and restaurants
and, public facilities such as offices and roads of Kigali and the six secondary cities of Rwanda. In addition
to that, RECO collect plastic and glass bottles that are available in those cities to recycle them into locally
made plant pots. Our Vision is Enhancing the reduction of carbon emissions and pollution, and prevention
of the loss of culture, biodiversity, and ecosystem services in Rwanda especially Kigali and 6 secondary
cities. Our Mission is to promote indoor and outdoor gardening (using both native and endemic plants),
creative cultural arts, and waste recycling.
II.
Study objectives addressed
USAID Africa Trade & Investment (ATI) program in its annual program which is written in response to the
current global food crisis' impact on Africa. In ATI’s second objective “Resilience of Food Systems”,
transaction identification, facilitation, and deal structuring pertaining to Africa’s resilience and food
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security. And it’s cross cutting objectives of “Empowerment of women, youth
and vulnerable communities” as the solution of reducing Ukraine and Russia
war crisis in Africa.
We came up with the project to create a social enterprise organization, “Humanitarian in Organic Farming
(HOF)” under Rwanda Environment and Cultural organization. The HOF is a multidisciplinary innovation
that tends to answer the following priority areas on this call: (A) Resilience of food Systems and
empowering women, youth and vulnerable communities. This objective will be realized through engaging
single mothers, boarding high school’s students in identified affected sectors which are under
malnutrition line and refugees in designing and implementation of home organic vegetable and maize
gardens while creating 4 Home organic gardens and scaling the vulnerable home organic gardens
approach through engaging key policymakers, partners, and funders. Moreover, the HOF organization
does emphasize the use and transfer of biological farming knowledge to vulnerable communities and
entrepreneurial mindset to young generation. This is part of the HOF broad prominence regarding
developmental skills and habits necessary for individuals (and their communities) to live in a way that
contributes to a better ‘food resilience’; the current and the future (Egana del Sol, 2019).
(B) Fostering private sector-led response to food security and building market based productive
capacities. Vermicompost fertilizer production and green environments have a pivotal impact on the
community’s overall wellbeing and farming land productivities. This process is good as it requires low
initial investment. Here we will focus on red worms which are known to their resistance and productivity
in compost processing (Edwards, 2006 and J Sci Food Agric 2015). This bio-farming initiation in Rwanda
contains nearly twofold of both macro and micronutrients than the garden compost. In fact,
vermicompost enhance soil fertility physically, chemically and biologically. Hence organic compost will
reduce the need of imported fertilizers in Rwanda and increase crop productivity due to health farms. In
addition, people in Rwanda (and globally) will develop a closer connection with each other and with nature
through vegetable, maize planting activity and edible oil production from avocados.
Quality and originality/novelty of the innovative idea
The Humanitarian in the Organic Farming (HOF) initiative will tackle these challenges, using a transformed
education model as a key for sustainable food resilience. HOF innovation has the potential to link farmers
with refugees, local community and young farmers and the successful farmers on a nationwide and
worldwide scale through our connection with agro-technology. Imagine the camps refugees seeing their
home organic vegetable and corn gardens that they learned from young local organic farmers. Or imagine,
when absolute strangers come to live in Rwanda, and they find out the information on Rwanda biological
farming procedures, the specific local vegetables and maize adaptability one specific phone application.
In that sense, the HOF study contributes to distributing local farming knowledge, vegetable and maize
organic farming by connecting us to each other in a meaningful way. Also, over time, the hope is that
these strengthened bonds will make it easier for future farming generations to agree on solutions for
farming and food resilience using HOF biological farming mechanics with reduced imported fertilizes. If it
works out, the HOF study could become the Rwanda ’s first truly agro-technological and humanitarian
farming.
This research project will ensure that HOF model is implemented at the schools’ level, and vulnerable
communities ( refugee camps) and ensure that each selected school and camps have a dedicated area
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named ‘organic vegetable and maize garden’ where their students will be
inspired and trained to have open minded and refugees will learn how to
prepare organic compost, pesticide and selecting specific species to grow and
implement organic gardens from created a simple illustrated HOF phone application that educate them
about the biological farming strategies and selected species adaptabilities. Through working with HOF
partners and National farming and climate change institutions, we expect to develop policy and
procedures for implementing home organic garden approach and biological farming knowledge sharing
through HOF organization, and the approach is sustainable because it is constructed from schools and
community’s perspectives. HOF will help integrate the findings and develop policy in formal and informal
education while recommending a mixed model to involve students and mother in action farming, where
students and local community are engaged in problem-based learning.
Research population
The study population comprises 120 students and 600 single mothers, plus at least 24 refugees will be
recruited to be part of the project. +/- 600 students and +/-200 single mothers and +/- 6 refugees will be
recruited from each of the four planting sites in Rwanda. The two planting sites are gatsibo district, gatsibo
community model school, and Nyabihecye refugee camps. All sites of project implementation will be held
at Gatsibo district. Gatsibo district is selected due to its historical status of being in the districts having
high percentage of malnutrition (stunted) in children of age five and women who have begun childbearing
at age between 15-19 (RDHS, 2014-2015).
Research tools and materials
Standardized and structured questionnaires will be deployed while focusing on the demographic
characteristics, cognition beliefs, and farming knowledge, mental well-being, and self-esteem. In addition,
the questionnaires will focus on learning how much organic farming knowledge is shared with the young
generation. Refugees, students’ and their parent’s perception of their enjoyment of organic farming,
empathy farming , responsibility towards food resilience, and awareness of land protection will be
measured through the Connectedness to Nature Index (CNI) (Sobko et al.,2018); Refugees, students’ and
their parent’s perception of their emotional affinity, cognitive affinity, and attitudinal affinity towards
organic farming will be measured through the Affinity with the Biosphere tool, with series of games.
Collaborations, Capacity building, and Management
We are working as a multidisciplinary team including the Rwanda Environment and Cultural Organization
(RECO) (who brings their experience in organic vegetable garden designs and implementation, and in
offering educational solutions to local community and their provision of sustainable solutions to critical
land and food resilience issues in Rwanda), and Avoca Care ltd ( who bring their expertise in
biotechnological activities and production of edible oil from avocados), the Organic Venture ltd (who
bring extensive knowledge on nutrition and organic farming ).
The RECO team Vincent Sindikubwabo (PI) has extensive experience with environmental monitoring and
remediation. Vincent is the Director at the RECO, a leading Center in the conservation and farming works
among non-governmental organizations in Rwanda. Vincent is an environmentalist with an InterUniversity Master's degree in Environmental Management, Monitoring and Remediation got jointly from,
Gent, Antwerp, and Vrije Brussels universities in Belgium. Also, he is a Bachelor of Science in Biology,
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Botany, and Conservation Option from the University of Rwanda. He is now
an honorary research fellow at the Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and
Natural Resource Management (CoEB), University of Rwanda. He contributed
much on the research projects in Rwanda including upgrading and digitization of Rwanda National
Herbarium which is the project of renewing this herbarium after the Belgian authorities who initiated the
Herbarium. In addition, he is the one who initiated the project of reducing indoor carbon emission in
Rwanda.
The Avoca Care ltd team Mugeni (Co-PI) has extensive experience in implementing large and small
projects, both in biotechnological research and community engagement. She is the founder of Avoca care
ltd a non-governmental organization which cultivate and adding value of avocados. They produce avocado
oil: extravergin oil for cooking and cosmetic purpose. They will contribute in knowledge sharing and
inspiring young generation especially women that they can contribute as solution makers. Finally, Organic
Ventures ltd will collaborate with local farmers, refugees and students in knowledge sharing with a special
emphasis on vulnerable female practitioners. It will help our team to distribute the indigenous vegetable
and maize knowledge which are more adapted to Rwanda environment. This will increase the socialecological farming importance of innovation.
RECO leaders and Organic Ventures (OV) are already in contact with local communities’ associations (eg:
Tuzamurane association-TA). This year 2022 on 16th-18th June, OV organized a training conference about
‘She can be the solution for Peace through organic farming Knowledge Systems and Conservation’ that
took place at Hotel View, Kigali. Single mothers Associations in Rwanda were among the attendees.
This partnership brings a huge influence on the wider RECO community, especially by contributing to
RECO's mission of conserving Rwanda genetic biodiversity and empowering local communities’ arguments
urgently needed to transform education and systems so that they become drivers of social, agrotechnological, and economic development to reduce malnutrition. This is in addition to the contribution
of developing a network of researchers from NGOs, Universities, and private sectors through
multidisciplinary collaboration.
Project Management and Leadership:
A project team for daily operations has been established from RECO & AVOCA Care and OV, made up of
the PI (20% time each) and Co-investigators (10% time). One full-time research assistant (100% time) will
be hired to daily coordinate the implementation of the HOF innovation. A professional communication
specialist (50% time), HOF phone application illustrator (on time), and an agronomist (50 %) will be hired
to facilitate the project implementation, visibility, and engagement. To meet the objective of this research
call, priority will be given to female processionals during hiring.
The responsibilities of the project team include;
1. Planning and re-planning: regular review, refine, and update and update of Log frame; Activity Plans
and Budgets.
2. Developing the research tools/questionnaire, developing the analysis plan, conducting analysis,
publishing, and assuring results dissemination and the scalability of the HOF project.
3. Monitoring: Using a systematic and continuous control of the overall scheme and goals, using the Log
frame and budget proposal as major guidance.
4. Reporting: Provide sufficiently detailed information on the state of advance of the project biannually
using the project log-frame and budget. The daily project management: including weekly and Monthly
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reviews will be incorporated.
Budget justification
1.
Staff costs
The principle investigator (PI) and Co-PI stipents allowance of 7500 USD in two years to facilitate
coordination of the project activities. Phone application illustrator, who will support in creation and
innovation of the HOF application. Will be paid 2000 USD. Two agronomists, who will day to day monitor
the created vermicomposting sites two years for eleven months per year. One will cost 500USD per
month, 24000 USD for two years.
2.
Research
Two paper publications and will cost 2000 USD. Nursary work, the sampling campaign of the selected
indigenous species for four gardens. The two sampling will cost 8360 USD.
Two community events and two agro-farming walks where the data will be taken both baseline-endline.
They will cost 8000 USD. 3600 USD of venue hire and refreshments of four project workshops.
Enumerators and individuals who will support data entry will be hired four times, at baseline and endline
data collection phases both twice in 4 working sites at Gatsibo in four community events. 30 data
collectors, plus 5 data entry people will be paid 12800 USD.
One communication specialist and blogger will be hired, to spend 50% of his time in 6 months per year
for 2 years, while supporting visually designing the developed education materials, producing two videos,
and creating blogs of the project. He/she will be paid 3600 USD. For project research promotion, 5 months
of campaigning, 3 television and 2 radio shows will have implemented on 11000 USD for two years.
3.
Travel and expenses

4.
Travel inside Gatsibo, and from Kigali to Gatsibo, vice versa, plus travels from nursery to planting
sites, will be covered by 3087 USD and an additional 2400 USD of the travel in the agro-farming
walks (Successful framings). These community events will bring together students, single
mothers, refugees and community leaders in vegetable and maize planting activities and engage
vulnerable community in plant-based education for young generations. 3000 USD Per diem,
which will be the ticket cost of one of the HOF staff from Kigali to Gatsibo, vice versa. 4800 USD
payment to 600 participants 600 (Refugees+ students+ single mothers) 2 USD as motor cycle
ticket in each of two sampling events (baseline-endline).
Equipment

One computer package including Microsoft Word Programs and a data bundle for the two years
will be purchased. The computer will be based in the administrative office and will be used to
develop and maintain project databases in addition to performing administrative work connected
to this research. This equipment will be covered by 5200 USD. Two composting machines: TGCC-100 composters- 50000 USD. Vermicomposting materials and preparation (Construction of
cement tank-2000 USD, collecting Biodegradable agro waste- 3000 USD). Red earthworms –
3000USD, cow dungs. Farm (yard) to be used – 30000 USD. Fencing and construction activities 33693 USD. With regard to COVID-19 restrictions, 5000 USD will help purchase materials to help
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minimize the risks of COVID-19 infections including hand sanitizers,
temperature meters for five years, etc
5.
Other cost

2760 USD will be used for staffs’ communication for two years to facilitate the project
coordination and management
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